Thriving and Surviving… Maybe ?

Well y’all. I did it. I succumbed to the peer pressure from all the former bachelors and bachelorettes. Okay, not really. I’ve been wanting to try Thrive for a while and now that we live in Richmond and Trader Joe’s and good grocery stores are so far away I thought “Hmm… what a perfect time to give this Thrive box a try!”

If you’ve never heard of “Thrive Market” (you must be living under a box or don’t use any form of social media) it’s a membership “community” that offers wholesale prices on healthy food and natural products. They offer your #basic food at fairly affordable prices. I wanted to give Thrive a try, so I started a free 30 day trial. I’m about 2 weeks in to my trial and about to order my second box. There is a membership fee of $60 a year, so I’m trying to decide if I’m going to keep it up, or let it go.

Here’s my thoughts so far… There’s a lot of stuff on Thrive Market that we order all the time, and yes… the price is better (on some things) – but other’s not so much. You know my newfound love for the Kettle & Fire soups, and Thrive has the same ones as Whole Foods (which I can get through PrimeNow), but Whole Foods has the better price. Another example, we LOVE the EPIC Venison bars. They’re great when you’re traveling or to have in your bag for a quick snack. On Thrive they’re $28 a box whereas on Amazon they’re $21, but you have to do a pantry order/pay for prime pantry (we don’t have that). If you’re not a pantry member and you’re buying these EPIC bars individually (like we have been), then Thrive totally makes sense because the membership would start to “pay for itself” like they say it will.

As I dig in to it, it seems like the best bang for your buck is the Thrive Market brand items, cleaning supplies, and bath and beauty items. We’re a Mrs. Meyer’s cleaner family, and I love that I can buy 1 bottle of cleaner from Thrive vs. having to buy 3 on Amazon (hello lack of storage!). Thrive’s prices on Dr. Bronner's Bar Soap are much better than Amazon or Target and we love that stuff! The Thrive peanut butter is delicious, super cheap, and just your basic peanut butter without all the added junk – LOVE THAT!

Can you tell how torn I am? Have you tried Thrive? What are you thoughts?

Something else I’m curious about is their baking supplies, spices, and condiments. They seem to have GREAT prices on those things, so maybe that will push them over the edge? I just don’t know if I’m fully ready to commit to the membership fee. Anyone else feel like they’re paying to be members of EVERYTHING these days? I thought sharing all of this with you would provide me some clarity, so far I’m still just as confused as I was before… oh well. I will say, if you have dietary restrictions, they have a TON of stuff that’s gluten free, egg free, vegan, etc. so definitely check it out if you’re in that bucket.

Anyways, enough debating. Let’s talk about what I got in my first box (I was in a sweets mood, don’t judge me) and what’s in my cart for the next order, and maybe the next.

Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. I ordered so much chocolate. I know… it was a little excessive. I just got so excited! It’s like a virtual candy aisle and I couldn’t contain myself. They have great prices on Chocolove and have a lot of options for EatingEvolved. I’m thrilled they had the milk chocolate, toffee and almonds Cocolove, I’ve been wanting to use that in a new recipe (coming soon) and I haven’t been able to track it down! Something new I tried and loved was the Cocomels, they’re perfect for a mid-day, gotta have it pick me up!

Not in to chocolate or candy? Their salty/savory options are fabulous as well. Like I said earlier, we live off all things Epic, so I’ll have these Epic bars on repeat if I continue. The next round has this non-GMO, Paleo snack mix coming. I’m super pumped to try it, it sounds SO GOOD! I love a good snack mix, don’t you? The Cauliflower Quick Meal was great for a change of pace for a lunch-time grab and go. I heated mine, and like it a lot better. They’re packed with flavor, and aren’t at all short on spice. I think Tyler is going to give them a go for lunch this week. I’ll let you know what he thinks.

I’m so excited to find a place that has the spices I use regularly in these basic plastic zipper bags for a decent price. I love using my own spice containers so this is perfect for that!

I’m eager to try some of the alternative condiments and baking supplies. This next round I ordered the chickpea crumbs; I’ve been looking for a breadcrumbs replacement, and this might just be the solution! Hello dried blueberries! I love using dried blueberries when I’m baking, but they’re so hard to find without a ton of sugar. These are sweetened with apple juice so I’m excited to give them a try. Know what else always has a ton of sugar, condiments. It always shocks me how much sugar is hidden in things like buffalo sauce and mustard. I’m thrilled that Thrive could be my source for condiments sans refined sugar.

Lastly, cleaning supplies. As I mentioned earlier, I hate having to buy bulk supplies to save money. While I love Costco, there’s only so much storage room available in our place. So if I can save and only have to buy one thing at a time, I’m all for it! It’s also nice to find a place that has “clean” cleaning supplies. I know there’s a ton of options for this, but not normally at the same place you can pick up your whole peppercorns.. am I right?

Take a look at Thrive Market and let me know what you think. Are you intrigued? Is there anything you’d want to try? If you want to give it a try, use this link to get 25% off your first order. They give you 30 days to decide, so what do you have to lose? I know that sounds super commercial-y, but it’s true. Twenty-five percent off, and a trial period… it’s a good thing. If you try it, let me know! I wanna see what you snag.